Beyond Feelings - Vincent Ruggiero [86]
Should a lawyer defend a client that he knows is guilty of the charge against him? Does your answer depend on the seriousness of the offense? For example, would your answer be the same for driving while intoxicated and murder?
Since the onset of the AIDS epidemic, many people have experienced the pain of seeing their loved ones die a slow death. When the victims have begged to be assisted in committing suicide, some people have been moved by pity to grant their request. Such actions are against the law. Should the law be changed? If not, should people who aid others in committing suicide be charged with a crime?
Fear of contracting AIDS has caused people to behave in untypical ways. For example, many refuse to have any social contact with a friend who has contracted the disease. Some dentists and doctors have refused to work on patients with the disease. Undertakers have refused to embalm AIDS victims. Is such behavior justifiable?
Is the Oriental practice of acupuncture pure superstition, or does it produce a real anesthetic or curative effect?
For many years it was believed that children who receive early formal education have an advantage over those who start school at age five or six. Today some educators challenge that view. They speculate that intellectual and emotional harm can result from putting very young children into structured learning situations. Which view is the more reasonable one for parents to accept?
The increase of violence in this country (and a number of other Western countries) in recent years has given new currency to an old issue. Are human beings naturally, instinctively aggressive, or is aggression learned behavior?
The philosophy of "spare the rod and spoil the child" has a long tradition in parenting. But the modern attitude is that physical punishment comes close to being, and many indeed be, child abuse. What kinds of punishment, if any, are appropriate for parents to use?
1 See, for example, Carolyn A. Ristau, "Do Animal Think?" in R. Hoage and L. Goldman, editors, Animal Intelligence (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1983).
2 "Court Exempts Presidents from Damage Suits," The (Oneonta) Star, June 25, 1982, p.1.
3 "Pacman IIk Nips Surgeon General," Binghamton Press, November 10, 1982, p.1A.
4 "Evanston, Illinois May Tax University Students," Time, November 7, 1982, p.33.
5 "School's Out for Drug Sniffing Dogs," USA Today, June 28, 1983, p. 7A.
P4-6
Table of Contents
BEYOND FEELINGS
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
WHO ARE YOU?
WHAT IS CRITICAL THINKING?
WHAT IS TRUTH?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO KNOW?
HOW GOOD ARE YOUR OPINIONS?
THE BASIC PROBLEM: "MIND IS BETTER"
RESISTANCE TO CHANGE
CONFORMITY
FACE-SAVING
STEREOTYPING
OVERSIMPLIFICATION
HASTY CONCLUSIONS
UNWARRANTED ASSUMPTIONS
UNWARRANTED ASSUMPTIONS
THE PROBLEMS IN COMBINATION
KNOWING YOURSELF
BEING OBSERVANT
CLARIFYING ISSUES
CONDUCTING INQUIRY
INTERPRETING EVIDENCE
ANALYZING VIEWPOINTS
FORMING JUDGMENTS
SOME CONTEMPORARY ISSUES
Table of Contents
BEYOND FEELINGS
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
WHO ARE YOU?
WHAT IS CRITICAL THINKING?
WHAT IS TRUTH?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO KNOW?
HOW GOOD ARE YOUR OPINIONS?
THE BASIC PROBLEM: "MIND IS BETTER"
RESISTANCE TO CHANGE
CONFORMITY
FACE-SAVING
STEREOTYPING
OVERSIMPLIFICATION
HASTY CONCLUSIONS
UNWARRANTED ASSUMPTIONS
UNWARRANTED ASSUMPTIONS
THE PROBLEMS IN COMBINATION
KNOWING YOURSELF
BEING OBSERVANT
CLARIFYING ISSUES
CONDUCTING INQUIRY
INTERPRETING EVIDENCE
ANALYZING VIEWPOINTS
FORMING JUDGMENTS
SOME CONTEMPORARY ISSUES